Wrathful Red Dragon
Creature — Dragon
Flying
Whenever a Dragon you control is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any target that isn't a Dragon.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
- Price
- $5.86
- EDHREC rank
- #2207
Wrathful Red Dragon turns every damage-based board wipe into a one-sided massacre — when it gets hit, each creature that dealt that damage takes the Dragon's full power in return, converting Star of Extinction into a clean table sweep that leaves your Dragons standing. The cost is five mana for a 5/4 flier, which is fair but not free, and the payoff only materializes when opponents are pointing removal or wrath effects at it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Rivaz of the Claw
Rivaz of the Claw makes Wrathful Red Dragon free to cast on the turn it's needed and recurs it from the graveyard if the retaliation trigger gets it killed, so the punish effect is both cheaper and repeatable.
Lathliss, Dragon Queen
Lathliss, Dragon Queen floods the board with Dragon tokens whenever Wrathful Red Dragon enters, meaning the retaliation trigger is defending an army rather than a single threat — opponents who wrath into it are punishing every token too.
Ganax, Astral Hunter // Acolyte of Bahamut
Ganax, Astral Hunter // Acolyte of Bahamut generates Treasure when Dragons enter, so Wrathful Red Dragon pays for itself over time while also serving as the deck's primary deterrent against spot removal and board wipes.
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm copies every Dragon that enters, and a copied Wrathful Red Dragon means two separate retaliation triggers firing when opponents attack or wipe — the deterrent value doubles immediately.
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients cares about dealing damage to itself and spawning Dragon Spirit tokens, and Wrathful Red Dragon's triggered retaliation can redirect damage back at creatures, feeding Vrondiss's own trigger engine.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Wrathful Red Dragon lives — multiplayer tables run board wipes constantly, and the Dragon punishes every one of them while also discouraging spot removal in combat. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant; a five-mana 5/4 with a conditional trigger has no competitive role in those formats. Oathbreaker gives it a niche home in Dragon-heavy red builds, though the 20-life format moves faster and reduces how often the retaliation trigger changes a game. Outside of Commander, Wrathful Red Dragon is a casual card that earns its slot only where the game plan involves stacking Dragon synergies and baiting opponents into wipes.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Dawnsire, Sunstar DreadnoughtWrathful Red Dragon
Near-infinite damage to one opponent
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
If the retaliation angle is the draw, Deflecting Palm and Bolt Bend offer one-shot damage redirection for far less mana, though neither sits on the board as a persistent threat. Wrathful Red Dragon's real edge over cheaper options is that it's a Dragon itself — it fuels tribal synergies, flies over blockers, and punishes removal simply by existing, which one-off spells can't replicate.
Price Context
Current price
$5.86 mid tier
At $5.86, Wrathful Red Dragon sits in the mid tier — affordable enough to slot into any Dragon tribal build without budget pain, but not a throwaway pickup. It holds value because Dragon tribal remains one of the most popular Commander archetypes and the card has no direct functional reprint; demand is stable rather than speculative.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Star of Extinction
- Rivaz of the Claw
- Lathliss, Dragon Queen
- Ganax, Astral Hunter // Acolyte of Bahamut
- Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
- Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
- Blazing Sunsteel
- Guilty Conscience
- Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought
- Fiendlash
- Pariah's Shield
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.